Studentcentral: Upgraded!

On the 25th June we upgraded studentcentral, giving you some new features for the 2017/18 academic year!

New! Drag and drop files

You can now drag and drop files from your computer in a variety of places within studentcentral. This should make it a little easier for those who prefer this style of adding content. For those who don’t – you can still just click Browse My Computer and upload files as before. You’ll also notice the Submit button now floats down the page, so you don’t need to scroll to the bottom of a page to click submit if not required.

New! Submission receipts for studentcentral assignments

When students submit via Turnitin, they receive a digital receipt. Similar functionality is now being extended to studentcentral submissions, which are often used when Turnitin is not appropriate (e.g. large files, videos, group assessments etc).

Now when students submit a studentcentral assignment, they see a unique confirmation number which can be used as a receipt. We are expecting this to be further developed in time to provide email copies of these receipts and a repository students can access to view all submission receipts.

Staff can also view all studentcentral submission receipts via the Grade Centre, and receipts remain even if the work is removed by a tutor.

New! Photo Classlists for your modules

The eLearning Team have built a new tool that appears on your dashboard for 2017 modules. It can only be seen by staff, and allows you to quickly generate a photo classlist for a module cohort. If you have groups set up within studentcentral, you can also generate photo lists by group. If you wish to add this widget to a previous module (2016 or earlier) check out our guidance on adding widgets

New! Mobile Apps

Many of you will have been aware of the Blackboard Mobile Learn app which can be used to access studentcentral on a mobile device. This app has now been discontinued, and replaced by two new apps:

• Blackboard App: Specifically designed for students. Allows students to browse content, check grades, view announcements & participate in discussion boards.
• Blackboard Instructor: Specifically designed for staff. This is limited at the moment – staff can browse content, check grades, view and send announcements & participate in discussion boards. Future developments will include grading features

Both apps have a very similar ‘look and feel’, and allow users to access the core parts of studentcentral whilst on the move – e.g. school, course and module content. One limiting feature at the moment is that Turnitin is not compatible with the apps – so students cannot view Turnitin feedback via their app for example.